Specialist SQL Server. Nothing else.
Depth matters here, and depth only comes from doing one platform. SQL Server is the whole business: licensing liability, recoverability, and performance. Nothing on this site is a repackaged generalist opinion.
The guides here are written to be used on your own estate. Many walk through what to look at and what to fix first, so you can act on them without hiring anyone.
One platform, done properly.
Not networks, not helpdesk, not "IT". The full SQL Server picture, from the first query plan to the long-term managed service.
Performance tuning
Hardware is the expensive answer to a slow server. The cheap one is finding the few queries doing the damage first, and it usually buys back the upgrade budget.
High availability & DR
Two numbers set the budget: how much data you can afford to lose (RPO) and how long you can afford to be down (RTO). The topology follows from those, not the other way round.
Migrations & upgrades
Azure or modern hardware, and the shape that keeps it safe is the same every time: know what you have, test on a copy, cut over in a window you control.
Licensing audit
Edition, cores, Software Assurance and idle instances decide the bill. Across the estates we audit, 20 to 40% of it usually turns out to be recoverable.
Managed SQL service
The distinction that matters in managed cover is proactive against reactive. One heads the outage off in the week before; the other bills for it the morning after.
Compliance & security
A hardened data estate providing the exact evidence your auditors and board need to see.
A five-step process, refined over twenty years.
That's how long we've spent building and running enterprise SQL platforms — long enough to learn how to change critical systems without breaking them. Here's how every engagement runs.
Discover
We start with what the business actually depends on, then run a deep, read-only diagnostic of your SQL estate. Our checks go well beyond the usual scripts — they're built in-house — so we see what's really there: the untested backup, the over-provisioned licence, the failover nobody has tried. You get a graded report in plain English, not a wall of red.
Design
With the findings on the table, we design the fix — and cost it. We spell out the return — what it saves, what risk it removes, how long it lasts — and walk your team through it before anything changes.
Deliver
Most of what we touch is business-critical, so we treat delivery with care: tested on a copy, cut over in a window you control, with a rollback ready. Remote or on-site, usually fixed-price, always inside the agreed timeframe and downtime.
Optimise
A new platform behaves differently under real load. We monitor it, tune it, and keep tuning — our own diagnostics alongside industry tooling — so the result still holds up months later, not just on day one.
Manage
Someone has to keep it running afterwards. The distinction worth holding any provider to is proactive against reactive: managed cover spots the problem coming and heads it off, where break-fix waits for the call. Either way, less of the week goes on minding SQL Server.
Day to day, the work that keeps SQL Server honest.
- Query and execution plan optimization
- Wait-stat and bottleneck analysis
- Index fragmentation and management
- Deadlock and blocking resolution
- Always On availability groups
- Automated backup integrity testing
- Disaster recovery runbooks
- Corruption and database consistency checks
- Azure SQL and Amazon RDS migrations
- Cloud repatriation to on-premises
- Version upgrades, kept compatible
- Managed instance optimization
- Licensing liability assessments
- Core-count right-sizing
- Consolidation of sprawling estates
- Audit-ready security evidence
New Zealand based. Trusted across three markets.
Home is New Zealand, with consultants in the main centres. We also run engagements for active clients in Australia and the United States, and for clients further afield. Most of the work is remote — secure access to your estate, not a flight — so wherever your servers live, distance is no barrier.
What a fixed problem looks like.
Three real engagements, kept here as a yardstick. Whoever you hire, this is the shape of the outcome to hold them to: a number before, a number after, and a decision someone could act on.
$20k to save $200k. Best buy ever.Chris, CEOFMCG distributor, New Zealand Performance
This is just incredible. We cannot thank you enough.Ken, Data Team LeadGlobal corporate-travel platform Recoverability
You guys are amazing. I didn't even know this was possible.Susan, Senior DBAMetropolitan transport agency
You won't find client logos here. Here's why.
Given the sensitive nature of what we do — the risks we find, the systems we touch — we don't publish client names or logos. We have in the past, and even that drew attention nobody wanted.
So the proof on this site is real outcomes with the names softened. If you want more, we're happy to share references and put you in touch with existing clients, confidentially. Ask, and we'll arrange it.
Non-profit? No charge.
The price for enterprise-grade SQL Server support and performance tuning is often out of reach for non-profit organizations, leaving their data vulnerable to outages and risk.
Registered non-profits pay nothing for this work. Our sponsors cover it in full. Email info@sqldba.org with what you run, and you get a straight yes or no on whether you qualify.
The things people ask first.
Is the health check really free, and is it safe?
Yes. It's read-only — we look at configuration and usage metadata, change nothing on your servers, and there's no production impact. You get a graded report in plain English whether or not we ever work together.
What do you actually check?
Backups and recoverability, security and access, patching, configuration, performance, and licensing — the full picture, set out across our data platform services. The same engine runs behind every assessment: 500+ checks, well beyond the usual scripts.
How much can a licensing audit save?
Usually 20 to 40% of your SQL licensing spend, sometimes more. We've taken over NZ$50 million off client bills — about $7 million a year. See how a licensing audit works.
Do you support cloud repatriation?
Yes. Cloud costs can spiral when on-premises workloads are moved without optimization. We specialize in bringing SQL workloads back from Azure or AWS to your own hardware to regain control of your OPEX.
Do you do ongoing management, or just projects?
Both. We handle one-off fixes and support, cover a gap or a project on a contract basis, and run an ongoing Virtual DBA service for clients who want us to keep it healthy long term.
On-prem, Azure, or both?
All of it. On-premises, Azure (VM, Managed Instance, or Azure SQL), version upgrades, and cloud repatriation when the cloud bill stops making sense.
Do you only work with New Zealand businesses?
No. We're New Zealand based, with consultants across Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, and active clients in Australia and the United States, plus clients further afield. The assessment runs remotely, so where you are is no barrier.
Not sure who you need?
Tell us what is going on. A senior DBA reads every message and points you at the right next step, even when that is not us. If a read-only look at your own estate would help, the free SQL health score is there, and the findings are yours to keep.